Citation Nr: 0825331
Decision Date: 07/29/08 Archive Date: 08/04/08
DOCKET NO. 05-12 899 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Winston-
Salem, North Carolina
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD).
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Virginia A. Girard-Brady, Attorney
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Joseph P. Gervasio, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran served on active duty from September 1963 to
September 1966.
This case initially came to the Board of Veterans' Appeals
(Board) on appeal of a rating decision of the Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) that denied service connection for
PTSD. The Board likewise denied the appellant's claim a
January 2007 decision.
The appellant appealed the Board's denial to the United
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and the
Board's decision was vacated pursuant to a March 2008 Order,
following a Joint Motion for Remand and to Stay Further
Proceedings. The parties requested that the Court vacate the
Board's decision regarding the denial of service connection
for PTSD and remand the matter so that the Board could have
the RO refer the veteran's case to the U.S. Army and Joint
Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) to attempt to verify
the veteran's claimed stressors. The Court granted the Joint
Motion and remanded the case to the Board.
The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management
Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the
appellant if further action is required.
REMAND
The veteran is seeking service connection for PTSD that he
asserts he sustained as the result of service in the
Dominican Republic during May 1965 and from September 1965 to
September 1966. The Board notes that in a September 2005
memorandum, the liaison between the RO and JSRRC stated that
the veteran had not provided sufficient information for
verification by that service. Specifically, it was stated
that JSRRC needed a two month time frame and information such
as names of participants for verification. The veteran did
not provide this information and the Board proceeded to deny
the claim. The Joint Motion, however, states the case should
nevertheless be referred to JSRRC for attempted verification
of the veteran's claimed stressors. It is indicated that his
unit numbers are on file, the location of the alleged
stressors is in the record, and that this information should
be submitted.
Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:
1. The RO should forward the veteran's
statements of alleged service
stressors (along with copies of his
service personnel records and any
other relevant evidence) to U.S. Army
and Joint Services Records Research
Center (JSRRC), Kingman Building,
Room 2C08, 7701 Telegraph Road,
Alexandria, VA 22315-3802. The
JSRRC should be requested to provide
any information available which might
corroborate the veteran's alleged
stressors and any other sources that
may have pertinent information.
2. If JSRRC verifies the presence of an
in-service stressor, a VA examination
should be performed by a psychiatrist
in order to determine the etiology,
nature and severity of any
psychiatric illness, to include PTSD.
The claims folder must to be made
available to the examiners in
conjunction with the examination.
All indicated tests are to be
conducted. The RO is to inform the
examiner that only a stressor(s)
which has been verified by JSRRC may
be used as a basis for a diagnosis of
PTSD. If the diagnosis of PTSD is
deemed appropriate, the examiner
should specify whether each stressor
found to be established by the record
was sufficient to produce the PTSD,
and whether there is a link between
the current symptomatology and one or
more of the in-service stressors. A
complete rational of any opinion
expressed should be included in the
examination report
3. Thereafter, the RO should
readjudicate the veteran's claim. If
the benefit sought on appeal remains
denied, the veteran and his
representative should be provided a
supplemental statement of the case
(SSOC). The SSOC must contain notice
of all relevant actions taken on the
claim for benefits, to include a
summary of the evidence and
applicable law and regulations
considered pertinent to the issue
currently on appeal. An appropriate
period of time should be allowed for
response.
The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and
argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded.
Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law
requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of
Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims for additional development or other
appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner.
See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2006).
_________________________________________________
MICHAEL D. LYON
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the
nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.
38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2007).